The FAI has said a decision on potentially moving the Republic of Ireland men’s Nations League home game against Israel from Dublin to a neutral venue won’t be made until after the women’s team World Cup qualifier against France on Tuesday night.
The Irish Times understands that the board has informally settled on moving the game, but that a formal decision will be made in the days following the France qualifier so as not to overshadow that match.
Hungary is believed to be a leading option to be the neutral venue, however, this would depend on Uefa, the competition organiser, greenlighting any decision.
In a statement, the FAI said it will not be releasing a statement on whether the game would be moved until Thursday “due to the hugely significant game” in Grenoble on Tuesday.
It said the association’s board “continue to meet to discuss the operational aspects of hosting the home fixture” but that there are “ongoing discussions with Uefa”.
It said the statement came “in response to the high volume of media queries” on the topic.
“Any decision around the game is solely a matter for the association”, the FAI said and stressed its responsibility is to “protect the future interests of football in Ireland”.
FAI president Paul Cooke would not comment when asked if the decision had already been made, noting it is “under ongoing review”.
Ireland are due to play Israel in an “away” game on September 27th and at home on October 4th.
The Israeli men’s side last game in their own country was against Belarus on September 12th, 2023, at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, with nine fixtures subsequently moved to Hungarian stadiums and one match in Moldova.
The Ireland v Israel games have been the subject of much debate in recent weeks.
The Ireland friendly against Qatar at the Aviva Stadium was interrupted on three occasions by protesters throwing tennis balls wrapped in Palestinian flags with “Stop The Game” written on them.
Any potential decision to move the home game would not be without precedent.
In September 2024, Belgium moved their Nations League tie against Israel, initially scheduled for the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, to behind closed doors in the Hungarian city of Debrecen, as no local authority in Belgium considered it possible to host the game, citing security concerns and anticipated protests.
Last week, Ireland assistant coach John O’Shea said he echoed the sentiment of Heimir Hallgrímsson.
O’Shea highlighted that while Uefa “acted on Russia, they haven’t acted on Israel. From a sporting point of view, we don’t want to give anyone an advantage, but we fully appreciate it’s not right,” he said.
While O’Shea does not want to “lose any sporting advantage” he said he understands “the nation’s feelings, and for us to be involved in this scenario, it’s not right”.
He said it would not be right for sanctions to be applied to the team or to give an advantage to another team and noted: “Hopefully the authorities, and the Government, [and] Uefa, can resolve it for us.”
A Sinn Féin motion calling for the game not to go ahead will be debated the Dáil on Tuesday – the same day as the qualifier, a fact which is understood to have caused frustration in sporting circles.
Party leader Mary Lou McDonald said: “Moving the game does not resolve the issue. The issue is the game itself. These fixtures should not proceed while the genocide in Gaza continues.”
She also said the Government must provide “clear political leadership” arguing: “The government cannot dodge this question by pointing to Uefa, the FAI or a change of venue. This is a political and moral issue.
“The people of Ireland have consistently stood with the Palestinian people. They expect their Government to act in accordance with the values of human rights, justice and international law.”
The Labour Party’s foreign affairs spokesman Duncan Smith said changing the venue of the fixture would be a “cop out” and called for it to be abandoned.
“We need to stop the game and be brave enough to walk away from the fixture,” he said, describing “normalising Israeli’s participation” in sporting events as “normalising genocide”.
Social Democrats spokeswoman on sport Sinéad Gibney said her party will be proceeding with a Dáil motion on Wednesday that calls for the Government to advocate “at national and international level” for Israel to be excluded “from all sporting competitions as long as the genocide and illegal occupation of Palestinian territory continues.”
Gibney said moving the game abroad would “not address the moral and ethical issues of our national team lining up opposite an Israeli side in the name of sport”.
“Today’s announcement changes nothing and will only amplify calls for a complete boycott of this fixture by Ireland.”
